Energy experts confident power will stay on through summer despite ERCOT's warning

Thursday, April 15, 2021
What happened with ERCOT's near-emergency?
ERCOT, the Texas' grid operator under fire since the winter storm, was close to going to emergency conditions on a Tuesday in April. So, what happened? And are we out of the woods yet?

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- On Wednesday, ERCOT tweeted saying there are tight grid conditions, but they're not asking people to conserve energy like they did on Tuesday.

The warning sparked customers' concerns triggered by February's power outages across the state. Fortunately, ERCOT didn't issue an energy emergency that day.

READ MORE: ERCOT says power conservation request 'has ended without the need for an energy emergency'

"What we saw [Tuesday] was a function of having higher demand for this time of year, at the same doing maintenance on power plants and transmission lines, getting ready for the peak summer season," said Jesson Bradshaw, the CEO of Energy Ogre.

He doesn't believe what happened is a sign of things to come this summer.

READ ALSO: How the 2021 winter storm happened

ABC13 Chief Meteorologist Travis Herzog and ABC13 Chief Forecaster David Tillman join Harris County Meteorologist Jeff Lindner and NOAA meteorologist Jeff Evans to explain how the 2021 Winter Storm formed and what this means for the future of Texas weather.

"What happened [Tuesday] doesn't mean there isn't any predictive value for what's coming this summer," he said.

Months after the loss of his parents due to February's winter storm, Ben Cooks III got emotional learning ERCOT asked customers, once again, to conserve energy. It brought back some tough memories for him.

"We're still dealing with it, day by day, we lost our parents," said Cooks talking about his parents Benjamin Jr. and Virginia.

Although Bradshaw doesn't believe there will be issues like those in February going into the summer months, he understands people's concerns.

"Because of February, everyone's sensitivities and awareness have been heightened," he said.

ABC13 reached out to ERCOT and the governor's office Wednesday for a request for comment but has not yet heard back.

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